1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to aquaria. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for creating a tide pool effect, and other effects, in an aquarium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aquaria and other devices, such as terraria, ponds, and pools, have been used for centuries to display plant and animal specimens in simulated, but often realistic, ecosystems. Traditionally, such devices maintain a stable and relatively unvarying environment which provides a simulated ecosystem that is appropriate for those plants and animals that are displayed therein. This consistency, while adequate for preserving these specimens, recreates only a limited part of their natural environment and does not support regularly changeable environmental conditions, such as those encountered by the denizens of a tide pool.
A nature-based ecosystem is described in Adey, Water Purification System and Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 5.097,795 (224 March 1992). Water from an aquarium is diverted to a tray-shaped receptacle that contains an algal turf. Lights above the receptacle promote algal photosynthesis. The algae remove carbon dioxide and pollutants from the aquarium water, replacing them with oxygen. The receptacle accumulates water and, when filled with water, rotates on pivots, releasing the cleansed water back into the tank. The device disclosed in Adey is directed towards the maintenance of suitable water conditions in the aquarium environment, but does not permit any changes or variations in the aquatic ecosystem.
Additionally, traditional aquaria do not always display the specimens to advantage, nor are such aquaria well integrated into the environment in which they are placed, e.g. a living room or den. One such problem generally encountered with aquaria is the effect of light diffraction, which tends to obscure the contents of an aquarium, for example when one is looking through the aquarium cover and the layer of air situated between the aquarium cover and the water surface. Accordingly, an aquarium is usually best viewed through transparent sides that are in direct contact with the water medium, and not through the aquarium top, thus limiting the desirability of placing the aquarium on the floor, for example in a coffee table.
Aquaria are often bulky and heavy, and are therefore usually placed on unsightly metal stands. A design for a wall-mounted aquarium is disclosed in Lake, Wall Mountable Aquarium, U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,738 (29 May 1973). An aquarium tank is inserted into and secured to a frame. Externally mounted support structures are used to bear the weight of the tank. A length of wire is threaded through an adhesive that affixes the support structure to the tank. The wire terminates in a loop that is used to hang the aquarium on a wall hook. The wire loop and hook attachment is unstable and unreliable,i.e. it may slip or break, resulting in the breaking and/or emptying of the aquarium. Such occurrence both endangers the aquatic specimens, and creates a likelihood of water damage.
It would be a significant advance in the art to improve the manner in which animal and plant specimens are displayed in simulated ecosystems, such as those provided by aquaria, in particular by reproducing such rhythmic cycles as those of tide pools, while allowing display and location of the aquarium in a manner that shows specimens contained therein to advantage, and that integrates the aquarium gracefully into the environment in which it is placed.